[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6352504,"mediaKeyId","2224533-708826e3a6cb9c86012be41237f96263","parentId",2224533,"title","South Burlington outlines tracking, low‑rate strategy to cut chloride; cites private property as major gap","audioSeconds",990,"startMs",3120000,"endMs",4110000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2224533-708826e3a6cb9c86012be41237f96263&start=3120&end=4110","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2224533-708826e3a6cb9c86012be41237f96263/thumbnail_3120000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6352504/Vermont/South-Burlington-outlines-tracking-lowrate-strategy-to-cut-chloride-cites-private-property-as-major-gap","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6352504-a670cb347876c79a0ea639c4f55f22fd/orig.mp4?Expires=1774938187&Signature=DWRSM5KEAfb9-0NQRPBRG7yHQRw8IWc~Z3g7cGy2Zm4VkPccjtUTRXKz0nBxFAOdZDEvTrPkEu-KGVCFK~SmOHghcvnFk7m2P81KW~Fk1Fvw9RTntlpja0DHtK0Tpc~bHBH9MS6w9xZHBWKyPvDtREf-rnlOL2ptq-V5LIOBvcrhFhPN9wCmOe~bdVzmU1V32Y~esQHar2ub5gXlFDO7o8Qws~xe~4FNoYD4IYp4SDbcYirTMv87MDIa9HBWSK0ViVU1XcsgvMHSXmrFgb2lkMIh8FSm0LfHLJXPmDP8wAmlE1t3Fg7GDhsSWQxqy2HlzrpkRmg1-U-2VAxENWReJw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","VT Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Energy","date","2025-02-05T14:04:56Z","article","Marissa Arora Baugh, stormwater superintendent for the City of South Burlington, told the Senate committee that the city has tracked salt application and invested in equipment and training to reduce chloride loading to local brooks.

South Burlington staff said four local streams — Potash Brook, Bartlett Brook, Centennial Brook and Anglesview Brook — are chloride‑impaired and that Potash Brook regular monitoring shows specific conductivity levels well above thresholds associated with harm to aquatic life.

“We were aware that chloride impairment was going to be a problem ... and we’ve been continuously monitoring since then,” Marissa Arora Baugh said, describing stream conductivity data that the city collects to track salt impacts.

The city’s approach includes pre‑wetting salt, a low municipal application target (described to the committee as a goal of about 50 pounds per lane mile), routine calibration of spreaders, mechanical plow blades that limit abrasion, truck telemetry to monitor rates by vehicle, and staff training done in‑house.

“We have tracking software ... and we post it on a bulletin board downstairs where the crew can see it,” Arora Baugh said, adding that the public‑works office uses the visibility to encourage driver buy‑in and lower application rates. The city reported a declining trend in pounds per lane‑mile over roughly a decade.

South Burlington is planning a software upgrade with geofencing and remote rate setting so the deputy director of operations can automatically trigger lower application rates when trucks enter chloride‑impaired watersheds.

But Arora Baugh and committee members said private commercial properties and homeowners remain a major source of salt entering municipal watersheds. The city has run outreach campaigns and coordinated with other local MS4 permit holders to promote “salt smarter” messaging, but officials said uptake is mixed.

“We do feel that it is very difficult for us to meet any sort of requirement ... without the participation of the private landowners,” Arora Baugh said, noting that private parking lots and dumped snow piles commonly concentrate salt near stormwater flows.

Arora Baugh also highlighted capital constraints: the city has invested roughly $63,000 to date on equipment upgrades and expects to spend about $28,000 to upgrade the tracking software plus $4,000 per year in subscription fees for the new platform.

The presentation offered an example of how a municipal combination of data, equipment and training can reduce municipal salt use while the larger statewide chloride picture will depend on uptake by private property owners and grant funding for structural fixes such as covered salt sheds.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Natural Resources and Energy-2025-02-05-9:00AM","oneSentenceSummary","South Burlington stormwater officials described a decade of tracking and equipment upgrades, a municipal low-application goal and plans to geofence application rates for impaired watersheds, while warning private property salt use remains a major barrier to reducing stream chloride levels.","taxTitle","Natural Resources & Energy, SENATE, Committees, Legislative , Vermont","taxId",48480,"location","Vermont","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6352510,"VTrans says federal TA funds limited; municipalities face match requirement for salt‑shed grants",396,2276000,2672000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2224533-708826e3a6cb9c86012be41237f96263&start=2276&end=2672","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2224533-708826e3a6cb9c86012be41237f96263/thumbnail_2276000.jpg","/articles/6352510/Vermont/VTrans-says-federal-TA-funds-limited-municipalities-face-match-requirement-for-saltshed-grants","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6352510-d53235398a5f02009f293379e53e5f52/orig.mp4?Expires=1774938187&Signature=bCKffI1iOg6AFUprntwqxwuRt38XaJMs-7S3xjtbvfSzXbJs3jLpHMiAqV4I4iU8H2pHSd53XO534Guo~ugPysyu4uEdloGlAdR-cqHaGy9kwfb8S04KWDE8jkZhnRQ2QZPbyd3vh21j~8a9UHsc0hbhVaiAT-EXaUXvJzitlETG1PZlcZ9ekAXnaYNVeJxc6OU814mh8qzen6V6RLaClZQHsULftBu6DGmqVEctV2Tb-Q0cd5Z6fE2inDlUWNHOc~BOVMuFtamgviA99F76ecLmd2n8sSmbmyxOIXs9OR8GpumyDmeJG7XufkzGWj~r7RBVHjNf4914sjFyY4Xr9g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Joel Perrigo, municipal assistance program manager at the Agency of Transportation, told the committee that federal Transportation Alternatives funds can support municipal salt‑shed projects but funding is limited and competitive.

Perrigo said the TA program’s set‑aside was roughly $2.2 million before the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and has risen to about $4.3 million; half of that set‑aside is now required by statute to go to an environmental mitigation category, which creates competition for projects.

“The eligibility says environmental mitigation to address water pollution due to highway runoff,” Perrigo said, explaining the constraint. Under current practice VTrans will cap federal awards for salt‑shed projects at $500,000 and requires a 20% local match. Perrigo said municipalities or regional planning commissions are eligible applicants; private property owners are not.

“Municipalities must demonstrate water‑quality improvement,” he said, and VTrans typically funds one or two salt‑shed awards per year from five to six similar applications, depending on project readiness and scoring.

Perrigo estimated the typical new salt‑shed structure costs “in the neighborhood of $500,000 to $700,000,” and said some towns withdraw after awards because they cannot assemble additional local funding or the shed does not meet eligible stormwater treatment criteria.

Committee members asked whether VTrans has data on municipal needs; Perrigo said the agency reacts to applications and does not maintain a statewide inventory of unmet municipal salt‑shed requests. He advised the legislature that the TA funds compete with other stormwater and resiliency projects.

No formal action was taken during the hearing.","VTrans staff told the committee that Transportation Alternatives (TA) funding can be used for environmental mitigation projects including salt sheds, but awards are limited, require local match and municipalities must apply. Officials said demand has been modest and the program funds other stormwater priorities as well.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6352513,"VTrans says truck telemetry, liquid salt and driver training cut salt use but trade-offs remain",430,148000,578000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2224533-708826e3a6cb9c86012be41237f96263&start=148&end=578","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2224533-708826e3a6cb9c86012be41237f96263/thumbnail_148000.jpg","/articles/6352513/Vermont/VTrans-says-truck-telemetry-liquid-salt-and-driver-training-cut-salt-use-but-trade-offs-remain","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6352513-4c1a1a3fbf6b407f7d734a6b9e5b5064/orig.mp4?Expires=1774938187&Signature=bcn3aTYiMuQ-y9U3Nsj~fKux4hVVbuZgQQR7RcwDWMqop-qSk-Uv6R4adWoSGRuufqQnr5iPaRBaDsvvIZMh0IwqSoaGbqzneY3dJBLwF67w8-GO3xXOaaQQQlsFTKsvlcWtwlKxcdrIwNSvA~p7Vs8klCv2mXCAOuCG~vSlsqMkIDg5e0o8PJM2ZLSEpsRpIK2GYEPt2RWYkMCc-vu6YWn-tlAA~cMWB-9YmIXAgUOi7tuDOuMws8YNv5RVtFoDJQ~iwg9Q3EUr53xeLXJqY3llcZ7pg~kgflUs7CA0ReHhoGlkLkgSmd2mYQwXn6dd72EoIbVhuPQaePihYBijpg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Ernie Pat Reynolds, director of maintenance at the Agency of Transportation, told the Senate Natural Resources & Energy Committee on Feb. 5 that technology and operational changes have reduced the highway system’s material footprint while aiming to preserve public safety.

“Now the trucks are computerized beyond what you can even imagine. We know how fast the truck is going. We know whether the pile is up and down. We know how much they’re putting down on the roadway at any given time,” Reynolds said, describing a shift from manual on/off spreading to automated, telemetry-driven application.

Reynolds and other agency staff described four main changes that they said have reduced salt and sand use: switching to computerized spreader controls that compensate for vehicle speed; pre-wetting granular salt with a liquid solution to make it work faster; mechanical improvements to plow blades and underbody scrapers that remove packed snow more effectively; and expanded driver training and supervisor oversight.

“By spraying [liquid salt] directly onto the spinner just before the salt hits the road, it makes the salt wet,” Reynolds said. “The industry standard says just by making that salt wet, saves us 30%.”

Agency staff cautioned those performance gains occur within the limits of safety and weather variability. Jackie Munya, who described herself as overseeing the agency’s MS4/stormwater compliance work, said AOT reports application data annually for watersheds that are chloride-impaired and follows best-management practices statewide.

“We report annually our usage in those specific chloride ... watersheds,” Munya said, adding the agency uses truck telematics to track application in targeted areas and to comply with permit reporting requirements.

Committee members pressed on whether the state could do more — for example, on pretreating roads or training private contractors — and whether the improved practices translate to parking lots, sidewalks or private property. Reynolds and other staff said most of the agency’s equipment and training is road-focused and that commercial and private applications are separate challenges.

Reynolds said the timing of pretreatment matters. “If you missed it just by a half hour, you just wasted a truck, a person, and a whole load of material,” he said, explaining why AOT stopped routine roadway pretreatment but uses pre-wetting applied immediately at the spinner.

Staff also noted operational limits: travel patterns, pavement temperature and local terrain affect how salt works. Munya said each AOT truck has pavement temperature sensors to help drivers judge treatment in the field, and supervisors calibrate responses to local conditions.

Committee members and witnesses also discussed the potential for AOT to provide training to municipalities or to commercial applicators. Agency staff said local roads programs offer training and that VTrans participates in national organizations and symposiums to stay current on available equipment and methods, but that commercial applicator training for parking lots and private property is outside routine AOT operations.

The exchange made clear the agency views technological and procedural changes as effective at reducing material use, while emphasizing that further mandated reductions would require revising service-level plans and could pose trade-offs with safety and with the wide year-to-year variability in winter severity.

The discussion did not result in a formal vote or change to agency policy during the committee meeting.","Agency of Transportation maintenance staff told the Senate Natural Resources & Energy Committee that truck telemetry, pre-wetting salt and new plow technology have reduced overall material use; officials and permit staff said further reductions are constrained by safety, variable winters and the need to address chloride-impaired watersheds.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

South Burlington outlines tracking, low‑rate strategy to cut chloride; cites private property as major gap

VTrans says federal TA funds limited; municipalities face match requirement for salt‑shed grants

VTrans says truck telemetry, liquid salt and driver training cut salt use but trade-offs remain